When PI Jake Marshall fails to stop the abduction and subsequent murder of a client who was being stalked, he vows to do everything in his power to identify the man responsible. He'll need all the help he can get, including Kelly, his partner in the agency, and Russ Foster, a library security guard he met at a local bar ... with whom he's becoming personally involved.<br><br>Soon, it becomes even more imperative they find the stalker when a friend of Jake's also disappears and everything points to the stalker as his abductor.<br><br>Can Jake and Russ stop the stalker before he kills again? And how will their search affect their budding relationship, presuming the stalker doesn't target one of them next?

Stalker

“I wondered if you’d be here,” someone said from behind Jake. He looked up and saw Russ. “Is it okay…? Can I join you?” Russ asked.


“You bet,” Jake replied, getting nods from his friends. “Paul, Todd, this is Russ, and vice versa.”


Russ pulled out the remaining chair and sat, setting his beer bottle on the table.


Paul studied Russ then said, “I haven’t seen you around here. Are you new?”


“I moved into the neighborhood two weeks ago. I came in last week, met Jake, and convinced him to go to the zoo with me last Sunday.”


“So what’s this weekend?” Paul grinned at Russ. “The Botanic Gardens, one of the museums, a ballgame?”


Jake smacked Paul’s shoulder, muttering, “Be nice. We’re going to check out the art museum.” He resisted adding “So there.”


“Okay, why not. Tell us about yourself, Russ,” Paul replied. When Russ filled him in on what he did for a living, Paul said, “You two have something in common. That helps.”


Chapter 13